Discussions on various subjects ranging from water conservation, weight loss, overall health, legal issues and questions and anything else that tickles my fancy.
I also maintain our website: www.hawgwash.net if you want to see what we as a business have to offer.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Today was a wonderful day. Woke up to a beautiful morning, not too hot, not too cold. Managed to have fresh bread in the bread machine done by 9 am, so the house smelled like freshly baked bread.

Got the turkey in the oven by 10 am, anticipating that it would be done by 3 pm. The fully stuffed 11.5 pound turkey was fully cooked by 2 pm and all but the second loaf of bread was ready at the same time.

Have been gorging myself on turkey, yam casserole, green beans, fresh bread, stuffing, and all the other fixings since 2 pm today. Have had one heck of a time keeping my eyes open and my belly not stuffed.

Even sat outside this evening, right after sunset to watch both the space station and the space shuttle fly overhead. That was an awe-inspiring experience. Makes you realize exactly how lucky we all are.

All these things reminded me of how wonderful it is to be alive. Even in these tough economic times, we can still do things on our time and enjoy the food we cooked without fear of harassment. We can pray to our own God, we can talk to whomever we wish, we can even express our opinions without fear of retribution. It is a wonderful time to be alive. There is so much potential for what we can do, all you have to do is choose a path. Then, if you don't like the path, change. We can do that, it is wonderful.

Tomorrow I will get more serious again, but today I wanted to let you all know how thankful I have been and I really appreciate your friendship and guidance. Thank you all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Well, Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and many have already started preparing for the meals. The anticipation of friends and family gathering around a table to share food is something we all look forward to.

Despite the dire economic times we are currently experiencing, we do have a lot to be thankful for. We have the ability to communicate with almost anyone around the world, and those people are willing to communicate back with us. We should each be thankful for what health we have, because there will be someone out there who does not have what we have.

We should truly be thankful for the friends and family we have. Family is very important, even if you don't necessarily get along with everyone. You can't pick your family, but when times get tough, you can always rely on your family to help out whatever way they can.

Friends are different, they entered your life possibly by chance, but became friends by choice. Friends will be there to advise, tease, help and support you. Not all friends do all things, but that is why you have different friends. Each friend has a strength that you admire or a trait that you wish to learn. They in turn see a strength or trait in you that they wish to be near. It is very important during this time of year to not forget your friends and family and remember to thank them for the guidance and assistance they have provided for you.

There may have been occasions that you not have thought their guidance or advice was what you needed, but whether it was good or bad, they tried to help because they were your friend. If they didn't care about you, they would not have tried to help or advise, so be forgiving and thankful to all of your friends, especially now. You may not know all that they are personally going through. The best way to have a friend is to be a friend. If you think someone may need help, ask, listen, be a friend, you may be surprised (pleasantly) by the response.

What I particularly love about this time of year is the true warmth that is given by complete strangers. Despite the stresses, you still find people who will take the time to give a warm "Hello" and really ask how you are doing. It is the time of year to reach out and see what you can do to help someone out of a jam, even if it just means helping them reach an item on the top shelf of the grocery store. The only regret I have about this time of year is that people do not treat each other warmly throughout the year. It is my wish someday that we all help each other throughout the year, not just between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Something for all of us to work on next year....

I would like to wish all of you a very Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe, take care, spend time with the people you care about and really take the time to be thankful for what you have and the friendships you have developed.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Well, I was going to cover a relatively serious subject today, but felt that prior to the holidays, we all need a little more levity. Many of us are stressed about preparing for the holidays, stressed about the holidays, stressed about jobs, money, etc. Some of us stress about the stress we are under. Wow...

I think I was witness to some of that stress today in the grocery store. This year I got a wild hair and decided this was the year to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Usually we are on the road to a rally, so we almost always eat out or eat at a friend's house while we are on our way to a rally. This time we are staying close to home, and it has been years since I cooked a turkey. Steve is understandably concerned, I don't usually like to cook, and my cooking isn't bad, it is just boring...

Well, in my effort to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, I wandered into the grocery store this morning, thinking that early in the morning would be less crowded. Boy, did I have that wrong. I didn't realize how many people also believe that Tuesday morning is the day to purchase the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. It was elbow to elbow people in the store, many of them getting frustrated because they couldn't get to the foods they were looking for because there were so many people milling around with shopping carts. There were people three deep in the frozen turkey section.

The crowd around the frozen turkeys were so agitated that they actually almost came to blows over the frozen turkeys. Apparently most of the people there only wanted a turkey around 5-6 pounds and all that could be found were 11 pounds and up. As I was watching people frantically digging through the frozen turkeys (and there were at least 50 birds in the freezer section when I was there) if someone thought they found a small bird, people started pushing to get a grip on that bird. At one point the butcher came out with a 7 pound bird, and asked if anyone was interested in it. One minute you see the butcher with a frozen turkey in her hand, the next minute you see a bunch of older people grabbing for the bird and you can't see the butcher... I started worrying for her safety.

When one lady got the small bird, there was a general dejected sigh from the crowd as they turned their attention back to the frozen pile of turkeys. The butcher tried telling everyone that all the smaller turkeys were gone, but I believe the general hubbub kept her from being heard. By this time I had managed to wiggle my way towards the frozen birds, grabbed the closest one to me and quickly backed off. My bird was 11 pounds, which is fine, I will be eating turkey through the end of the year. I even considered using my turkey to go bowling and clear a path for me to the checkout counter. I think I could have easily knocked over 10 older people with my turkey...

As I was wandering the rest of the store, I saw another lady lecturing her husband to 'STAY PUT' and 'DO NOT LEAVE THIS SPOT'. The poor gentleman was in an electric wheelchair and had little choice but stay put, there were people all around him, pushing shopping carts all over and would not let him move even if he wanted to. I really felt that the store needed to install a traffic stop at that location so the poor man could navigate his chair away. I did not stay to see if he remained where his wife ordered him to stay, but odds are, he was stuck anyway.

There was another lady in another electric chair/scooter that got trapped in the fresh produce section. She was trying to get some celery but got boxed in by several people with shopping carts. The poor woman tried to back up, turn, go forward, anything just to move, but the people around her would not move their carts. I stepped back to allow her out, but as I moved out of the way to let her through, someone else with yet another cart pushed through the hole I created and dashed in front of this poor woman. The woman eventually got out of the produce section, and I just as quickly wandered off to the checkout stand.

The checkout line was just as entertaining with people jockeying for position in the quickest stand. There was no option for a short line as all the check out stands were open and they all had lines about 5 -7 people deep with shopping carts heavily loaded. The key was to find the fastest moving line. I didn't care, I was enjoying the show. After checking out, I was grateful to have gotten out of the grocery store unscathed and even happier to have pulled out of the parking lot. I could go on about the drivers in the parking lot, but we do not have all night...

Monday, November 23, 2009

Today's blog is just about the events of today, sprinkled with humor. We all need a break sometimes from daily work...

Today was a busy day, but one that was busy around the house. If anyone was following me on Facebook, you will know that we had a major plumbing backup occur Sunday morning. Since we didn't want to pay double or triple price for a plumber on Sunday, we opted to use the motorhome as our extended bathroom (lucky for us...) until the plumber arrived today.

What happened yesterday was kinda funny, but not really. I was doing my second load of laundry and wandered into the bathroom to pick something up. Imagine my surprise when I look over at our Garden Tub to see it almost completely full of black water. I then look at the shower stall and see that it too is completely full of thick, black water. It still makes my skin crawl to see all that black water... I then dash into the second bathroom to discover that tub has experienced the same problem, thick black water....ewwww...

In a panic, I call Steve, he thinks I am just overreacting, until he sees the mess. We both are two very active people, running around, turning off the washing machine, making sure all other water sources are turned off. We then try to use the plumbers aid (plunger) in the tubs and shower, in an effort to clear whatever blocked, to no avail. The really good news is that black water did not smell nearly as bad as it looked. It actually just smelled like wet earth...good for me... What we ended up doing was going outside to the plumbing drain pipe, and opening it up to see what was going on. Well....has anyone opened that thing up when there is a backup in the house?

That water is under PRESSURE...should have thought about that, but lesson learned. We had a mini fountain in the back yard for a few minutes until all the water in the house tubs & shower drained out this pipe. We then tried to press a broom handle down that pipe in hopes of freeing up whatever was stuck. My fear was that we would drop the handle, and have a bigger problem on our hands. We didn't drop anything but were unable to feel any blockage with the broom handle. Now we had no means of unblocking squat. So, we just opted to use the motorhome for the time being until a plumber arrived on Monday.

We were supposed to have scheduled an appointment yesterday (according to the answering service yesterday) but never received a call from the "on-call" guy yesterday. We did not receive a call this morning either, and instead of waiting it out, we called the plumber again this morning. We were told someone would arrive around 1 pm today. We hustled around the house and yard preparing for whatever the plumber was going to need to do, getting things done while waiting, eagerly, for the plumber to arrive.

Well, we worked around the house, and kept looking at our watches, working some more, looking at the watch some more, until it was after 2 pm. By then we were frustrated, and called the plumber again. This time we were told that we were indeed on the list (good to know since we spent the day waiting for the plumber...) and were the next in line for someone to be dispatched. So...we worked some more around the house, and this time kept a close eye on the driveway, looking for that plumbing truck.

Boy, when we heard that heavy truck start up our driveway (we were both not near the driveway) around 3 pm, we almost ran over the plumber in our excitement to see him. I now understand why dogs go nuts when you are gone for hours and they are locked up in a room, waiting for you to return.

The great news is that it took the plumber almost 2 minutes to clear that blockage. Boy were we happy it was that easy. I almost kissed the man after clearing up our blockage. I guess our plumbing had a mini stroke, it's artery was blocked. You do not really appreciate modern plumbing until it stops working unexpectedly. Boy, do I appreciate what plumbers do and I am soooo glad our plumbing is back in excellent working condition again. Time to take a nice long soaking shower....

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Well, here it is, another Sunday and time for me to report on how my weight loss for the week has gone with the Core4 product line. I am very happy to report that despite the stress related to this week, I managed to lose a pound and a half.

I attribute this weight loss very simply to the fact that I did as I promised last Sunday, I exercised moderately for 5 out of the seven days this week. For my body, that is how I get the Core4 products to work. What I discovered with my particular metabolism, I have to do more than just sit in front of the computer in order to lose any weight. Even if I do not eat as much, if I sit and do no strenuous movements, I will not lose a pound. I am quite sure that due to my use of the Core4 products though, that I did not gain any weight when I spent the whole week working in front of the computer.

I finally figured it out. While we were on the road, going from motorcycle rally to motorcycle rally, I had to walk the dogs at least three times a day. At least two of those three walks were about a mile in length and they were brisk walks. You may not think Yorkies walk a lot, but these two can easily walk for a mile and still want to go further.

Once home, I don't have to walk the dogs, we have a relatively large back yard that the dogs love to run in. They prefer running around in the yard to walking because they can actually run around where THEY want to go. Anyway, I am wandering off the subject.

I did not do a tremendous amount of exercising this week to lose that pound and a half, I did a brisk walk for anywhere from 20-30 minutes for 5 days. That is all I did for exercising. I played on the exercise ball once, but I didn't want to do too much after all that inactivity.

Next week I will continue to walk briskly for a minimum of 20 minutes and then start adding some light exercises another time during the day (exercise ball, some stretching, etc) those light exercises I will do only 3x a week and for about 20 minutes. I truly believe that as I stay on the Core4 products and do the light exercising (no pain...no pain..) that I will continue to lose weight, even through the holiday season. This way you can see that all you personally need to do in order to lose weight is to begin using the Core4 product line and some light walking.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

We have been extremely busy today, a good portion of the day was spent taking care of our second motorhome, the one we outgrew and now have up for sale. We took it down to one of our favorite hang-outs in Apache Junction with the hope of people having a better chance to look at the motorhome. Once we parked the motorhome, we noticed that the rims looked a tad dull so we had to polish the rims and clean the wheels.

For those of you that know us, we cannot abide a dirty vehicle. At the house, the Southwind has been sitting quietly in the dirt, and it was just as quietly collecting dust and dirt on the rims. We had the wheels covered, but this Arizona dust is very fine and gets everywhere. When we took the wheel covers off this morning, we were surprised (we shouldn't have been, but hey..oh well) at the dirt that collected in the rims. At that time we decided that instead of cleaning the rig at the house, why not advertise two things, one is the motorhome for sale, and the other is the fact that we Detail Motorhomes and other Recreational Vehicles with our waterless technology products.

So we happily took the motorhome down into Apache Junction, parked it and started cleaning the rims and tires. The rig looked pretty darn spiffy by the time we were done. We did have a few people come by to watch us work, but they were just coming by to watch us work, they even got a kick out of watching us work. Some people have a strange way to enjoying themselves...

Anyway, once we finished playing with the Southwind, we left it for people to look at. Hopefully it will go to a good home, that motorhome has been very good to us. I am sad to be selling it, the Southwind was my first motorhome and I grew fond of the rig. It kept us safe, dry, warm, and I got to see some really great parts of the country in it. If we didn't add to our family (two dogs, and dragging the bird - a parrot in a BIG cage) we would still be driving the Southwind all over the country.

The Southwind was well cared for when we got it and we continued the tradition - fixing things before they got bad and keeping everything in top shape. This is a great rig for one or two people. If you want to know more about it, check out www.hawgwash.net/MotorhomeSale.htm or e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Well, last night was fun, we had our weekly Thursday Bike Night at Arizona Joe's. Attendance was a little light, most likely because people are anticipating Thanksgiving next Thursday. Personally, I wanted to crank it up the week before Turkey Day because we don't have a bike night then...lets have FUN!!!

Yeah, for those of you that know me, you know quite well that I may be a little crazy (a little CRAZY???), but I don't go too overboard. I do like to have a lot of fun, and love to tease people. Last night, in our efforts to make the weekly bike night interesting, we decided to play a motorcycle trivia game. It was actually pretty funny to see people shy away from playing a motorcycle trivia game. The general comment / fear was that we would be separating the real bikes from the play bikers. That was not our intent at all, we wanted to have fun.

As it turned out, we did have fun. Granted we had to bully some people into playing the trivia game, but once they found out it was not purely about motorcycles, and you don't have to be a motorcycle gear head to win, people started coming back to participate in the trivia game. We have cards like Trivial Pursuit, but half of these cards had pictures and the other half were either true/false or multiple choice.

The picture cards included pictures of places in the country (Devils Tower, Chicago, Badlands), pictures of State Flags, pictures of road signs, and pictures of stuff on the bikes. The advantage is that anyone who even travels would have the opportunity to get correct answers. The multiple choice and True/False questions revolved around more biker-related questions, but again, you didn't have to be a "hard-core" biker to get those correct. These questions included questions about movies that had characters riding bikes, more technical questions about which motorcycle company made which models, and also questions about where some of the National Monuments/Parks are located. Again, there was a decent smattering of non-biker questions that allowed the casual motorcyclist the opportunity to get a correct answer.

In total, we were able to get the majority of people that attended Bike Night to play the trivia game. The winners got tickets that entered them into a chance to win a free motorcycle detail. By the end of the evening, everyone was eagerly awaiting the drawing to see who would get a full waterless motorcycle detail. It was a fun time for all.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, and Arizona Joe's (AJ's) will be closed so that the employees can spend the day with their families. Thursday, December 3rd we will start the Bike Nights up again and on that night we are going to have a "Hot Buns" contest. If any of you guys think you have the buns to beat, come on down to AJ's for some good fun. AJ's is located at 417 S. Winchester Rd, Apache Junction, AZ. We look forward to seeing some of you there...

If you have any questions about how our Waterless Detail works, or want your vehicle detailed by us, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or check out our website, www.hawgwash.net.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

We attended a legal seminar last night, and thought that the majority of us could all benefit from what was covered. We have been working with Pre-Paid Legal for the last few years, and it has been the best thing we could have gotten involved in.

For starters, how many of us can afford legal coverage for the following common issues: do you have a will; what will you do if the IRS chooses to audit you; what recourse do you have if creditors threaten to take action against you for your ex-spouse's debts; you receive a letter from a creditor and it is not your debt? Also what can you do if you cannot make your mortgage payment anymore now that you lost your job or took a deep wage cut? With our Pre-Paid Legal services, we can get these and many other questions answered by attorneys without having to pay extreme fees. Depending on the topic and / or question, many times the questions can be answered by a call on the phone, at no extra cost to you.

In the seminar we attended last night, the discussion was centered around "distressed homeowners". The firm covered Foreclosure Options and Loan Modification Solutions. This seminar was extremely beneficial even for the people who are not in financial straights. It is good to know what options are available, and to understand what other homeowners in your neighborhood may be experiencing. Once people know and understand their options, the stress levels can be greatly reduced. Having ready access to a lawyer (without worrying about hourly fees) is also a great stress reducer.

The seminar covered the broad topics of Foreclosure, Loan Modification, and Refinancing. They could not go into detail without infringing upon any attorney/client privilege. Basically, we discovered the meaning of a foreclosure/trustee's sale, what the options are, and some options on how to stop a foreclosure (if you want or can). They also covered what a short sale or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure was along with the tax ramifications and compared that with the types of bankruptcy available.

The next segment reviewed the basics of the government's Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Guidelines, who is eligible, what the borrower must do and what the banks are required to do (all lenders accepting TARP or Federal Government financial assistance MUST participate in this program). We also briefly covered loan modification on second liens and when loans cannot be modified.

There was a tremendous amount of information provided in this hour and a half long discussion, and I don't want to bore you with the details if it is not anything you are interested in, but if you are interested in more information on any of the topics I listed above, please send me a message, and I will respond to your request the best I can.

If you are interested in more information about Pre-Paid Legal and if it is a good option for you, please contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com with your questions. I also have a pretty decent Pre-Paid Legal website that covers some of the options. There are limitations to what can be offered based on what state you live in (and no, I don't mean the state of confusion), so if you have questions, please feel free to contact me, I will help you to navigate and obtain the answers you need. As I mentioned, we have had PPL for several years, and have lots of opportunities to use it. The neat thing is that we have asked questions of our attorneys that if we didn't have easy access, we would have guessed the answer. It is very nice to be able to pick up the telephone and ask a legal question, knowing you will receive a response no later than 2 hours down the road AND you didn't incur any additional charges. We are much more willing to pick up the phone for a legal question rather than guess and get bit hard down the road.

The best way I can sum up Pre-Paid Legal: it is like legal health insurance...you may never need to see the doctor (attorney) but it is sure nice to know you have access if you do need advice.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Well, I managed for the second day in a row to not fall in the pool. Granted, I had a few close calls, but I didn't fall in. I have been smarter for the last 2 days also, I have been making sure my phone is not on my person while I am cleaning the pool. The way things have been going lately, I can guarantee you that if I had my phone on, I would most definitely have fallen into the pool.

You would think that by now I would have gotten the hang of cleaning the pool, I have been working on it for the last 2 weeks. Apparently I am pool cleaning deficient. Luckily, I do have a person who comes once a week to make sure the chemical levels are OK and back flush the filter. It is enough for me to have to skim and sweep the pool (and I fall in while doing that), I think if I try to take on the rest of the tasks, I will end up in the pool more than out of the pool. During the Summer time, that would not be a bad thing, but now, when the temps are not much over 70 (I know, you guys back East are going WHAT A WIMP!!!), the pool water is in the 50's, and the humidity is in the low teens, it really isn't much fun falling in the water with your clothes on.

I grew up in New York, so you would expect that cold water doesn't bother me, I suspect two reasons why I get cold easy. One - I am getting old, my blood is getting thin (great excuse) and Two - with the lower humidity, the water feels much colder... (non-scientific theory). I really think the "older" part is the main problem. When you are in your teens and early 20's, nothing much bothers you. Now, I get cold a whole lot easier. I still like a dip in the cold pool, Steve thinks I am crazy because I will swim in the cold water, but I want to be the one to call the shots when I get in the pool. I do not like the unexpected kerplump into the deep end of the pool fully clothed.

It was tempting today to just get into a bathing suit and go in the pool to better clean it. But, it was getting dark, and the air already had a distinctive nip to it (no, I am not being wimpy there...). Perhaps tomorrow afternoon, I will swim a bit and then clean the pool.

Anyway, I didn't want to cover any serious topics tonight, so thought I would update you on my ability to stay out of the pool. Tomorrow I will be more serious....maybe, depending on my mood...

Monday, November 16, 2009

We had a wonderful time at the Gold Canyon Marketplace last Saturday. The weather was overcast, and we did receive some light rain near the end of the event, but as you can see in the photos, we did get to experience an awesome natural phenomena, a rainbow like none I had seen before.

The rainbow we witnessed appeared to follow the lines of the Superstition mountains and looked basically "flat" to me. I wish I had a better camera to show this phenomena, but at least here you get the idea of how bright the colors of the rainbow were and how different. Most of the people attending Gold Canyon Marketplace had not seen this before, we all had seen double rainbows, some of us have seen rainbows almost in a full circle, but this was so different.

What was really great about watching this was the camaraderie that occurred. Everyone, the various small business people presenting their wares to the customers, all gathered at the end of the driveway to watch and admire the rainbow. We all felt like we were part of something truly awesome and inspiring. We all took pictures and we all stood in silence watching. It seems to take an awesome sight like this to bring people together. After the rainbow was gone, we all stayed together and chatted about what we saw. The whole event brought us all closer together with the shared experience.

For those of you who have not heard about our Marketplace at Gold Canyon, what happens is on alternating Saturdays one of the small office complexes in Gold Canyon closes off part of their parking lot and opens it up to the local small business people to display their products and services. It is a great opportunity to see who is in business in the cities of Gold Canyon and Apache Junction and it is an awesome opportunity to network with other like-minded business people. This week we detailed two vehicles, one was a small SUV and the other was a 1989 BMW. The paint on the BMW was oxidized, but for a 20 year old vehicle and 20 year old paint, it was in great condition. We had a lot of fun detailing this convertible and the owner was thrilled with our end result.

If you would like to see our UltraLuster Waterless Wash products in action, come on by the Marketplace at Gold Canyon, Saturday, November 28th (Thanksgiving Weekend) as we will be working some more on the 1989 BMW and may have some other cars lined up for detailing. It is one thing to see a UltraLuster Waterless Car Wash in the bottle and for us to tell you how it works, but it is something completely different to see UltraLuster in action. The results are incredible.

The first picture is before we removed the oxidation, you can see that there is not much detail in the reflection. The second picture is after the oxidation was removed, there is a real shine now.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

It is Sunday again, time for me to report that I have only lost one pound this whole week. I guess I shouldn't be upset, I did lose a pound and I did NOT exercise like I promised all of you I would. Granted, I was active, but did not spend an active 20 minutes a day doing some version of exercising.

I believe that I am at that nasty plateau all of us hit, where the weight doesn't appear to want to go away. For those of you who have dieted, this is the time you lose faith in the diet and begin to essentially cheat on the diet and ultimately quit. As much as I would love to just call it quits, I know better. I have to keep reminding myself - how long it took to put the weight on? If it took me years to put on the weight, why do I think I can just snap my fingers and have the pounds fall off? Granted, when I first started with the CNI Core4 products, I lost 15 pounds in a month and a half which got me very excited and actually gave me unrealistic expectations about losing the rest of my weight. Healthy weight loss means that you need to lose the weight slowly.

I know that the Core4works well even if you do not want to change your eating or exercise habits, but if you want to remove all of the excess fat, you are going to need to increase your exercise level. It is recommended to do a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise at least five times a week. My biggest problem this week has been that I have been glued to the computer and when not glued to the computer, I was running errands and going to our various appointments. That is definitely not the type of exercise that will help to burn off the "sticky" fat that is on my. I really need to focus and get my pulse up so I can increase my metabolism even more.

The really good news is that even though I have fallen off my promise to exercise this week, I have not been gaining any weight. That in itself is great testimony to the Core4 product line. If you can basically eat badly (which I did this week, pizza two nights, cookies, ice cream...you get the picture) and lose one pound without exercise, that is proof that Core4 really works. I have been using the Cheatregularly (except in soups...) along with taking Accelerate in the mornings and Flush at night. The only product I have not been good at taking every day is the Lean, which is really stupid of me. Lean tastes good, is easy to prepare, and does a great job of killing my hunger. The problem I have had is that regular, solid food has been available for all three meals, I usually drink the Lean if it means I have to cook something mid-day (I don't like being bothered by cooking, especially mid-day).

I have been eating more fresh vegetables this week, so when I have those crunchy cravings (there are days where I just need to CRUNCH something) I have an apple, celery or carrots. That is how I justified all of the other "bad" foods that I consumed this week, the fresh veggies offset the bad stuff. But again, you know I was just fooling myself.

Anyway, the good news is that I lost a pound this week, the bad news is that I broke my promise and did not exercise. At least the weight is still coming off, and since it is coming off at such a slow rate, the odds are that it won't come back. I will do better next week, really...

Friday, November 13, 2009

I know that I mentioned Steve was quoted in a new book by Marsha Petrie Sue. I have finally carved out some time to really read this book (and not scan the pages) and thought you might be interested in the contents of this book. I am not going to give you the short version of the whole book, but there are some items I have found that are very helpful and I want to share them throughout the upcoming weeks.

This new book, "The Reactor Factor - How to Handle Difficult Work Situations Without Going Nuclear", by Marsha Petrie Sue is a handbook that provides exercises and tools to help you respond positively instead of reacting inappropriately. What I really like about the format of this book is that even though there are exercises in the book, Marsha provides those exercise pages on her website too, so you don't have to scribble all over your book. That is a huge plus for me, I hate writing in books, I grew up very old school, you did NOT write in your books... Also, by writing the exercises on separate paper, you can loan your book out to other friends without fear of them seeing what you were thinking or what situations you may see yourself in.

The first chapter in this book, Deciding to Decide: Take it, Leave it, Change it, is something that I wish I had read when working in the Corporate world. The thoughts contained in this chapter crystallize what I had to learn the hard way. It takes what you would really see as common knowledge and intuition and puts it right in front of you. After reading the chapter, I realized that I made those decisions, and can see how I worked them through, but it would have been really nice to have not relied on intuition and actually have a process that brings to the forefront the thoughts that are kicking around in your heart and in your head. How many times have you been so stressed about a situation that you felt you were paralyzed and couldn't make any type of decision?

The Deciding to Decide chapter outlines basically the three choices we all have to make. Most of us make these decisions unconsciously. By making you conscious of your thought processes, you become more aware of the reasons for your actions, and can probably improve your situation because you are more aware of the root of the problem and can now write down essentially a decision chart before you react. Even for those of us self-employed people, this chapter is extremely useful. Sometimes you don't understand why your head may say to do one action, but your heart may be directing you to go a different direction. By being able to outline the processes, you are no longer just reacting, you are responding methodically and logically to the situation. In the long run, you will find that you are more comfortable with the decisions or non-decisions you made. This process helps you gain control of what you may feel is an uncontrollable situation. Once broken down into its basic options, it is so much easier to decide to decide. Even a non-decision is a decision. but at least after reading this chapter, you are consciously making the decision to not do anything and will feel better about yourself because of it.

This book is a great read, once you get started, you really don't want to put it down. I had originally expected to fall asleep to this book (I find self-help books generally help me to sleep, not much else), but that is definitely not the case here. You will find that you have to force yourself to put the book down because as you read, you find more and more tools to deal with difficult situations. We all see these situations and it is exciting to see a process to work the problems out. You can order the book by clicking on the book picture in the upper right hand side of our website, we do not receive any money or compensation for promoting this book. This is information that everyone who works should have at their fingertips.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring the to the sunshine and light, which comes away to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true." - Woodrow Wilson

These words could not ring truer in today's current economic climate. How many of us are willing to give up our big dreams when the times get tough and money gets tight? Money is a great driver, but sometimes we look only at the money and not the path. The key is to find an income opportunity that helps you gain your dream without sacrificing your morals and ethics. Granted, we may have incurred debts that must be repaid before following those big dreams, but we should never let our dreams go. That is what makes us get up in the morning and what makes us continue working when all you want to do is quit. If you don't have a big dream, you have lost a piece of the beauty of life. Without big dreams, you don't have the drive or initiative to take risks. If you don't have big dreams, how can you measure your progress? Without big dreams how can you enrich your life and the lives of those around you?

Big dreams are necessary for us to strive to do better and grow as people. I always had a dream of being my own boss, being in charge of my own destiny and becoming financially independent. I have been following that dream these last 4 years, and let me tell you, it has not been a walk in the park. The rewards along the way though are so inspiring, that I continue to work on achieving my dream. What you will find that happens when you work towards your dream is that opportunities will appear that you didn't think would ever be there. Sometimes these opportunities take you in a completely different direction. As long as you continue to hold tight onto your big dream, even a different direction could ultimately bring you closer to your dream. Because you are taking a risk on your dream, you end up finding other ways to start achieving those milestones along the way to achieving your dream. Anthony Robbins said, "There is always a way if I am committed." You have to believe to achieve.

As you follow that convoluted path towards your dream (it seems that you can never get straight to the objective, life gets in the way) your life becomes enriched. You discover things about yourself that you would have never found if you didn't push yourself to achieve. I think Jim Rohn says it best, "We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are." If we don't nourish and protect our dreams, we will never become bigger and better than what we are today.

Beginning a second (and third, and fourth, etc) incomesource could be a means for you to get closer to achieving your dream. Today, more than ever it is important to have more than one income opportunity. With companies laying off large portions of it's labor force, we all need to be sure we have alternative ways to earn income. One of these alternative sources may become the path to which you can achieve your big dream. We can help you find a path that could very well set you on your personal road to achieving your big dream and financial freedom.

If you are interested, please feel free to check out our website, www.hawgwash.net for some income opportunities. If you don't see anything there that strikes a chord with you, please contact us via e-mail and perhaps we can help you find something that will help you toward your personal dream.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Veterans Day to all of those veterans and active members of our United States Military.

We spent a wonderful morning preparing and then participating in a Veterans Day Parade here in Apache Junction, but more on that in a bit. I first want to give a very brief history of Veterans Day.

Originally called Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, it was first incorporated in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson. It was created in honor of the signing of the Armistice Treaty which ended World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month. Two years later on Armistice Day, an unknown WWI soldier was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

In 1938 Armistice Day became an official National American Holiday. The year after Armistice Day became a National Holiday, WWII broke out in Europe. The start of WWII ended our hopes that WWI was "the war to end all wars". Over four hundred thousand America troops died in World War II.

After the Korean War (during which 36,000 Americans died) Congress felt that veterans of all wars should be recognized so in 1954 they changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. President Eisenhower signed the bill proclaiming the holiday a remembrance of all wars and changing the name to Veterans Day.

Veterans Day celebrations now take place across this wonderful country of ours. The people of Apache Junction have their own Veterans Day parade, which includes inviting the local ROTC cadets from all branches of the military and inviting members of the the local American Legion to participate. We rode with the American Legion Riders for this event. The Parade included local school bands and drill teams, the Model T club from Mesa were also in attendance. I know I am being pretty vague about who was in the parade, but since we were staging, I really didn't have an opportunity to visit all of the others in the parade.

At 9:30 we had the presentation of colors, and immediately after that we had a flyover by two F-15's from Luke Air Force Base. I would hazard a guess that the pilots of those two F-15's heard the crowd applaud and yell their greetings. It was an awe-inspiring sight to see.

As we were staging in the pre-dawn hours today, we had the great honor and pleasure to meet Army Lieutenant Colonel Margaret "Maggie" DeSanti. She has recently retired from the Army and is one of the most vibrant people I have met. Her tour of duty included service in Vietnam, 1968, 1969 and she served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Maggie had several fun stories to tell about her time in the service, and was a great source of information regarding her service. What she didn't discuss (we found out from one of her friends) was that she lost a daughter in the Twin Towers during 9-11. Her daughter was a waitress in one of the towers when it was hit. Maggie does not appear to be the kind of person who will dwell on things she cannot change, she is very focused on the here and now.

It was really great to see Maggie prior to the beginning of the parade going around to greet the various ROTC groups and spend some time talking with each of them. When she went to greet the Army ROTC, they all stood at attention and saluted her. That must have been a great thrill for those cadets to be greeted by a Lieutenant Colonel. Maggie does not appear to be one to take any 'guff' from anyone. Her handshake would put most men to shame, she is very active and in no way planning on drifting into retirement quietly. I feel honored that she spent time talking with me, a mere civilian, but she did have a good amount of fun teasing Steve, the Marine, who in the pre-dawn (and pre-coffee) hours did not see her uniform correctly. Steve first believe Maggie to be a Lieutenant (he claims he didn't see her shoulder boards...ha..) and then he believed her to be part of the Navy (again, he thought her uniform was blue, not black...). He just kept digging deeper until Maggie finally let him off the hook. Since Maggie was a Nurse, she actually helped all branches of the Military, and she has fond memories of some Marines she came in contact with.

What really touched me was all of the people lining the streets of Apache Junction, waving flags, little children holding up signs that say Thank You, and everyone waving. It was a wonderful day for a parade and everyone seems to have really enjoyed themselves. I am already looking forward to next year.

I just wanted to let you all know that our dog, Hawg, is doing much better today. Yesterday I was pretty brief about him being sick. He was having lots of trouble swallowing and I was worried that he had something stuck in his throat. I tried everything to ease his throat pain, to no avail. Since he looked uncomfortable only when swallowing, and not all the time, we decided to keep him calm and watch closely. If his swallowing got worse, we were all heading to the emergency vet.

To backtrack a bit, when Hawg doesn't want to play, you know he is not feeling well. Last evening, he was very listless and it looked like he was having a terrible time swallowing. Luckily, the calmer he was, the less he struggled with swallowing. We did get him to take a treat that seemed to go down OK, so we knew there was no big obstruction. My biggest fear was that he swallowed a cactus spine (he loves to eat the spines...don't ask me why) and it had somehow lodged in his throat. That would have definitely required a vet visit. But, since he did not have swallowing issues when he was resting, I suspected it was not a spine, or if it was, it was no longer lodged, but may have scratched or damaged his throat.

I tore the house apart looking for anything that may have caused this problem, but could not find anything that was partially ingested. I still have no idea what happened yesterday, but it scared the daylights out of me.

I spent most of the night just watching him for any significant changes to behavior, any indications that his pain was getting worse. By this morning, he was bright-eyed and playing again with no indication that his throat was sore at all. After some coaxing, he did eat his regular food and did drink water. By this evening, you could not tell he was feeling poorly yesterday. I am grateful that this crisis was averted.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Hi Guys, I know I committed to writing a daily Blog, but today, after all the work we did, we have a sick pup on our hands. I can't focus on writing anything really pertinent because I am worried about our dog. I don't want to waste your time talking drivel but didn't want you thinking I just blew my promise off. I will provide an update for you all tomorrow, hopefully everything will be better. Hawg (the dog) seems to be doing a tad better, but again my focus is on him (no reflection on you guys - in the generic sense) and not on writing anything useful or funny. Sorry.

Monday, November 9, 2009

As I am sure you are all aware of (painfully aware for some of us), the holidays are very close. That means, tons of great food that is not necessarily very good for us. It also could mean (for those of us with marginal self-control) that we have an awesome opportunity to overeat on those foods that are only made and served around this time of year.

This time of year is my favorite, not just for the weather, but for the good-will shown by the majority of the people I run across. A lot of that good will is expressed in food, you go to some one's home bringing food, they want you to eat while at their home, others bring food, etc. Being on a diet this time of year can be misconstrued as being rude, or not being friendly. I grew up in New York, and if you wanted to make someone very happy, you had to eat. If you did not eat, you are essentially insulting the person that you are visiting. This can be very difficult, especially if the other person does not feel you need to lose an ounce of weight.

Happily, I can a product that we offer that will help you through this holiday dilemma - Cheat. Cheat is a product that is offered by CNI (which I have been talking about weekly). Cheat is an all natural fiber that you sprinkle on all types of food. The fiber it is made up of is called Konnyako Root and has been used extensively in Japan for almost 2,000 years. (how many heavy Japanese people have you seen?). Not only is this product natural, it is tasteless and it increases your fiber intake. It is the world's first weight loss food sprinkle.

What Cheat does after it is sprinkled on your meal is that it mixes with the food particles in your stomach and expands to trap portions of the food, causing it to safely pass through your system without being absorbed. Normally, calories, fats and nutrients are absorbed in your small intestine. With Cheat, it basically captures some of that food and "tricks" your body into thinking it is all fiber. Your body safely passes fiber along and does not absorb fiber. Essentially, about 25% of what you just consumed (if you sprinkled Cheat on the food first) is safely passed through your system, with no absorption. The onlycaution I have with Cheatis to not sprinkle it in soups. Since it expands, you will end up with a bunch of gel blobs in your soup, edible, but not very appetizing.

People who use Cheat have found that they can lose an average of 8 pounds in 30 days with no other change in their diet or exercise plan. What this means for the upcoming holidays is that you CAN eat those once-a-year foods, sprinkle some Cheat on those foods, and not experience that almost inevitable holiday weight gain. How great would it be that you don't have to say NO at the meal table and you end up not gaining weight after the holidays are over? Even better, wouldn't it be great to find out that you ultimately lost weight over the holidays with the assistance of Cheat? It could happen...

Sunday, November 8, 2009

All right, it is Sunday again and I have promised to report on my weight loss while on the Core4 Products. Two weeks ago I had gained some weight due to the excess of Halloween candy I consumed and had promised to lose that weight plus (actually minus) one pound.

I am happy to report that I lost the weight I gained last week, but I am sorry to say that it does not appear that I lost that extra pound. In my defense, I have been in front of the computer most of the week, but I have not been exercising like I had promised I would. The exercise I have been getting consists of cleaning the pool for 4 days.

I know cleaning the pool may not sound like much, but I did end up with sore arms and wrists (the sweeping was pretty energetic) and I did do a lot of deep knee bends while sweeping the sides of the pool. I even got in the pool (not intentionally) on Thursday...fully clothed I might add. Not much swimming took place at that time, since I was fully clothed... but I did get in (really, I fell in...) the pool.

Bet you want to know how I fell in, don't you? Well, to start with, the pool broom I use to sweep the sides of the pool is a little broken - I do not have the extension part of the pole - so it is only probably 10 feet tall at best. So, I can easily sweep most of the sides of the pool (we won't discuss the deep end yet...) but need to bend way down to sweep the floor of the pool. That is how I am getting my deep knee bends in, as I sweep the floor of the pool, instead of bending over, I keep my back straight and do knee bends. Pretty cool way to exercise...so I thought.

The problem for me is that since I am just a tad vertically challenged (short), and there is a seat at the deep end of the pool, I cannot sweep the deepest end without first stepping onto the seat at the deep side of the pool. Standing on the seating area, the water only goes to about mid-thigh, so shorts are OK while cleaning the pool. Usually, I would sit on the side of the pool, lower my legs into the pool and then gently step onto the seat. I would then continue sweeping the sides of the deepest part of the pool. Sounds easy, right?

Well, on Thursday, I was in a bit of a rush and figured that I could just step onto the seat in the deep end of the pool. I had way too much confidence in my ability to keep my balance and squat on one leg while holding the long brush. Remember I was also feeling a bit rushed... So I take one big step onto the seat on the deep end, and realize too late that I had the brush on the deep side of the pool and had nothing to brace it on. I subsequently lose my balance and fell backwards into the deep end of the pool.

That would be a lot of fun in the summer time, but this time of year, the water in the pool is under 60 degrees and again, I was wearing clothes. I made a big kerplop into the pool and the dogs came running to see what I was doing. Here I am, hanging onto the side of the pool, I didn't lose my grip on the broom, and the dogs were barking at me...I couldn't stop laughing.

I ended up cleaning the rest of the pool from inside the pool, I was wet already, the water was cold, but I couldn't get any colder. Steve finally came out and wanted to know what in the world I was doing in the pool with my clothes on. I started laughing again because he thought I went in the pool intentionally with my clothes on. For those of you that know me, you know I love the water and will take almost any opportunity to get in the water. Thursday though, I did not plan on getting in the water since we had to work Bike Night after I finished sweeping the pool.

Anyway, that is how I got my exercise on Thursday. By next Sunday I plan on taking off 2 pounds and will be better at exercising throughout the week. I will not just rely on cleaning the pool for my exercises, I will use my exercise ball and the elastic band (my giant rubber band) and do at least 20 minutes of exercise for 5 days next week. I will let you know my weight loss progress next week.

Hopefully this brightened your day and will help put you in a good mood for beginning your week.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Tonight I am going to briefly review two more items in our Waterless Technology Arsenal. We are going to review our Bug Buster cleaning pad and our Perfect Clear Coat Bar. We use both of these products with our UltraLuster Waterless Wash when cleaning vehicles, either cars, trucks, planes, RV's or motorcycles.

Our Bug Buster is a non-abrasive pad that is used in conjunction with UltraLuster Waterless Wash. Use the Bug Buster on places that have really bad "baked on bugs" or tree sap. You don't need to use the Bug Buster on these things, but it does make the cleaning of your vehicle go much faster. To get caked on bugs off the front of your car, first spray UltraLuster Waterless Wash on a small area of the caked bugs, then take the Bug Buster pad and gently rub the area. You will be amazed at how fast the bugs come off the vehicle. Now you don't need to use your fingernail (you know you have done that for anything stuck to your car's finish...) to scrape off that last little sticky bit that was left on your painted or chromed surface. The Bug Busters are non-scratch, so you won't hurt your vehicle's finish. Using the UltraLuster as an additional lubricant is added protection to your paint or chrome.

After you have gently rubbed the bugs off, just follow up with another light spray of UltraLuster and then buff your vehicle to a beautiful shine. What I really like about the Bug Busters, and this is not a common fact, is that you can actually wash these pads and use them again. Each washing makes them a little softer, so eventually, they will not be great at removing baked on bugs, but you will get longer use of the Bug Buster. Just wash with jeans, do not use hot water and let air dry. We use our Bug Busters until they look and behave like a piece of cloth, then we toss them out. Bug Busters have been used in the boating and aviation industry for years.

Our Perfect Clear Coat Bar (formerly ClaBar) is also used in conjunction with the UltraLuster Waterless Wash. We don't recommend using the ClaBar every time you clean your vehicle with UltraLuster, but if you have something embedded in the clear coat of the paint, that is the time to use the Perfect Clear Coat Bar. Otherwise, you only need to use the bar about once or twice ayear. I am sure that after you have cleaned your vehicle, you still find little bumps in the paint.

These little bumps in the paint are microscopic bits of dirt, dust and pollutants that have become partially embedded in your clear coat. If you do not remove these items, they will over time continue to be driven into the clear coat and ultimately ruin your paint. The ClaBar is non-abrasive and will not scrape a layer of your clear coat off, but the bar is harder than the items embedded in your clear coat are. The Perfect Clear Coat Bar actually shaves the imperfections out of the clear coat without harming the surface of the clear coat.

To use the Perfect Clear Coat Bar, you must first soften up the bar by massaging it in your hand for a minute or two. You will notice that it becomes more pliable as you work it in your hands. Once it is sufficiently softened, flatten it into a shape like a small pancake, then lubricate a small area with UltraLuster Waterless wash, rub the ClaBar in small circles in the area. Wipe off the excess UltraLuster with a clean microfiber towel and then buff to a shine. Once you touch the paint that you just worked on with the ClaBar, you will feel an incredible difference. There are no longer any bumps and the paint feel ultra smooth to the touch. We recommend that after you have worked the area with the Perfect Clear Coat Bar, to go over the whole vehicle one more time with the UltraLuster, just to be sure you have a perfect finish to a newly smooth paint.

If you have any specific questions on either of these products, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tonight I will review two more products in the UltraLuster Worldwide product line. These both rely on Waterless Technology. The first product, UltraLuster Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner was newly introduced last month.

This product can be used on any type of fabric. You can use it on clothing for spot cleaning, or pre-treating, it can be used to spot clean carpets, and upholstery. It has a very nice, light citrus scent which is also good for freshening the air inside your vehicle. The scent is not overbearing and dissipates relatively quickly.

If you have a stain on your car's carpet, I recommend that you spray the Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner on the spot, then take an old toothbrush and gently work the Fabric and Upholstery into the carpet. Once dry, you should not see the spot anymore. If the spot can still be detected, repeat the process. So far, I have not found any spots this product cannot remove, but then I haven't tried it on crayons or other types of caustic dyes. When using on delicate upholstery (like couches, chairs, etc.) even though I trust this product implicitly, test the product out first on a hidden spot of your upholstery before using to spot-clean. You want to be very sure that a bigger spot won't be left on your upholstery (it shouldn't happen, but it is always better to be safe than sorry).

The second product we are covering tonight is the LeatherLuster. This is an awesome product that actually smells like new leather and is creamy in texture. This is a great cleaner and protectant for your leather and vinyl covered items. As with the Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner, before using LeatherLuster for the first time on your leather seats or furniture, try it on a hidden area first to be sure you appreciate the results. LeatherLuster will clean many types of stains on leather and will help protect the leather from the harmful rays of the sun.

Just take a small amount of LeatherLuster on a clean terry towel and gently work into the leather. You will discover the dirt transferred onto the terry towel, and the surface you just cleaned has a newer luster to it. LeatherLuster can be used on leather furniture (not buckskin), leather jackets (again smooth leather, not buckskin), leather boots, and any other smooth leather surface. The really great thing about this product is the new leather scent that stays with the cleaned material for days afterward. What is a lot of fun, is using LeatherLuster on your vinyl covered items and having them smell like new leather. You will have your friends guessing if you have vinyl or leather covered seats. LeatherLuster does a great job deep cleaning vinyl too.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

For those of you who have been following my weekly weight loss (or lack of weight gain) updates, I wanted to let you know that the company, Cal Nutrisciences (CNI) is running an awesome special for the month of November.

Through the end of this month, CNI is offering what they now call the "Fast 7 Pack". This was originally called the "Basic Pack" and contains enough product for 7 days of use. In this "Fast 7 Pack" you get a bottle of Accelerate (14 tablets), one container of Lean (good for 14 servings), one small bottle of Cheat, a bottle of Flush (14 tablets) and a really cool blender bottle. If you take the full dosage (2 tablets of Accelerate and Flush each day) the products will last 7 days. If you have a sensitive system (like me), you may want to take the "Fast 7 Pack" and essentially turn it into a "sort of fast 14". Because I have a very sensitive system, I had to start slowly with the Core4 products to be sure I didn't shock my body. As you know, I have ramped up my usage of the Core4 products and am up to 2 tablets of Accelerate a day, taking the Lean at least once, if not twice a day, and using Cheat almost every time I eat. The only side-effect I ever experienced was weight loss. Even when I am bad about what I eat, I have not gained any significant weight at all. This system really does work.

If you want to get this "Fast 7 Pack", just go onto the website, click on the "Join Now 4 Free" button and then choose the Basic or Fast 7 Pack.

This "Fast 7 Pack" is a really great deal, for a while CNI was contemplating eliminating this 7 day pack. I am very glad they haven't because it provides people an opportunity to try the awesome Core4 products without spending a lot of money. I can assure you that once you use the Core4 as directed, you will lose weight even without changing your diet or exercise plan. This is an awesome way for someone who is unsure to try the products without feeling too stressed about it.

I realize that this sounds like a serious advertisement for Core4, but I just wanted to let everyone know that if you were considering giving the healthy weight loss system a whirl, now is the best time to do it. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me either through comments here, or my e-mail at shootershakes@aol.com.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Well, I am now looking at another business opportunity that does blend well with what Hawgwash, LLC already has to offer. As we have been discussing on and off throughout this blog, advertising is critical to getting your business recognized. We have covered several different methods of advertising, focusing on the less expensive types of advertising, like word-of-mouth, goodwill, etc.

Today I am going to briefly discuss the new advertising that we are working on. This advertising has not been released to the general public yet, but will go public by the 10th of this month. We are now getting involved with on-line advertising. In particular, AdZoneSavings. Everyone needs to advertise their business and another way to advertise is to send out mailings to mailing lists either developed or purchased.

This advertising with AdZoneSavings sends out e-mail ads twice a month to purchased e-mail lists. This does not preclude you from sending out your own personal ads, it is just another way to get your name out in the market and start building your business.

AdZoneSavings will allow you to develop your ad, they will then professionally develop your ad (if you don't have one done already), and then place that ad on their network of advertisers. This network is essentially an electronic yellow pages, with your full color ad listed. You are allowed to have your particular ad listed in up to 5 separate categories, so if someone is looking for a Waterless Wash for their car, they would go to perhaps the automotive accessories category and then locate the ad for the business in their particular area.

The advertiser also receives monthly 500 full color flyers 5.5" x 8.5". The flyers are the same design as what is listed on the electronic listing. The really cool thing about this advertising venue is that you can change your ad monthly if you feel inclined, and your flyers would change too. Another neat thing about AdZoneSavings is that there is no contract. You are not committed to having an ad campaign for any length of time. You can run your ad for a month, a season, or any amount of time. If you plan on being in business, obviously you would want to run the ad for longer than a month, but you are not required to run an ad for any extended period.

The neat wrinkle to AdZoneSavings is that if you want, you can make money or get your monthly advertising paid by by getting other businesses to sign up for advertising. If you sign up 5 other advertisers, your ad for the next month is almost free. There is no requirement to sign up other advertisers, but as you are doing business, others may ask how you are getting your name out there and they may want to get involved without you asking. If you are really good at getting people to advertise, heck, this could be another income opportunity for you.

I will keep you all posted on the success of our ad in AdZoneSavings. The first mass e-mailing will be going out November 10th. We should start seeing an increase in activity on Internet sales after that. I will keep you all posted. You should see some changes in the next few days on our main website to reflect the AdZoneSavings opportunity.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Well, here it is Sunday again. I am almost ashamed to say that I have not lost any weight this week and gained a pound instead. I say "almost" because if you knew what I did this week, not gaining more than a pound was an excellent end to a very bad week. The good news is that even if I have experienced no weight loss, I have been able to manage my weight.

To start with, I did not exercise much at all this week. That was because I was feeling partially yucky (new medical term..;-)) and I was feeling very lazy. I had felt achy all week long and it was probably due to the bizarre weather changes we had. It got windy, which really messed up my allergies, and then it got really cold, which made my joints ache. I know these are excuses, but at least I am being honest. Laziness did play a part in my not exercising as much as I should have this week.

Also this week, as everyone probably knows, was Halloween week. That means all kinds of really great candy was on sale. As I had mentioned in earlier posts, when on the Core4 program, my sweet cravings were greatly reduced. That is great, until you start stocking up on candy in anticipation of the trick-or-treaters. Also some of that candy was the stuff I love and it only appears during Halloween. My control wasn't very good this week, it was a stressful week, the candy was just there on the counter STARING at me, DARING me to eat it, and I didn't take all of the Core4 products all the time as directed. Soooo, my self control wasn't there and the Core4 products didn't curb all of my cravings (since I wasn't taking them consistently this week).

I did discover that under extreme stress, even if you are taking the Core4 products somewhat regularly, your determination may waver a bit. I know that mine wavered quite a bit and I ended up eating a whole bag of candy by myself. I am not proud of that, but what I discovered is that though the candy tasted really good at the time, my belly was not a happy camper within a half hour of consuming all that candy. The good news is that I suspect the Core4 products have been teaching my body that candy is not the best for it. I used to not get an upset stomach after eating candy, but now, I my belly rebels after eating all that sweet stuff.

The candy tasted good, but I did discover my belly bloated something terrible after the candy. This is good to know, it definitely killed my cravings for candy. I must admit that I did try to eat more candy for a few more days before finally realizing that I did not feel so good consistently after eating said candy. The very good news is that we have a bag of unopened candy on the counter top (really for the trick-or-treaters who did not show up on our doorstep) and I have absolutely no desire to opening that bag. That bag even contains candy that I do enjoy.

I probably gained that extra pound from eating a lot of salty foods this week (along with the candy). I have felt bloated most of the week, but I believe I can place the blame again on myself for the bloated feeling. I have not been taking the Flush at all this week. I am not sure why I chose this week to stop taking the Flush, but without it, and with all the candy and junk food I have been eating, it is no wonder I am all bloated again. I took Flush tonight, and will continue taking it next week, until I get all the bloating over with.

I expect to lose that one pound I gained and plan on losing an additional pound for next week. That is my promise to myself and to you. If you want to learn more about the weight management / weight loss products I am using, please visit www.irepcni.net/shooter for more information, or you can e-mail me at shootershakes@aol.com. I also plan on putting the candy away and not eating as much as I did this week. I guess you could call this a binge week. Boy, I have no desire to do that again. I now know that candy will upset my stomach, and will get carrot sticks and celery sticks to solve the craving I have to CHEW on something. When I am stressed, I need something to CRUNCH and the candy I got did satisfy that need. Next time it will be carrots and celery, and I know I won't get as bloated. Good lesson to learn.

Take care and eat right. Keep in mind what you want to look like and you will end up not desiring as much the foods that are bad for you.